Olympic security officials are bracing for an onslaught of cyber assaults that could easily surpass the 12 million attacks a day, or 500,000 an hour, that were logged during the Beijing Olympics four years ago. The London Olympics is particularly vulnerable because it will be the most technologically interconnected, social media-driven event yet, security analysts said.

The threats could range from hackers trying to put up a message on a scoreboard to more nefarious attempts to disrupt the games by knocking out London's electricity grid. London security officials say they are well prepared. More than 3500 information technology engineers and technicians have been assigned to monitor the Games' computer systems and networks. Atos, the IT company that is overseeing computer security for the Olympics, is monitoring more than 11,000 computers and servers from a "deployment centre" and the Games' organisers said earlier this month they were ready to repel cyber attacks.

Other threats could come from cyber terrorists. A sophisticated attack could cause havoc for those attending the Games by cutting off their access to information about public transportation or taking out all the ATMs at once, said Stan Stahl, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Information Systems Security Association. People will also be at risk of phishing attacks from fake sites purporting to sell tickets for the events. Watch out for scams on social media sites such as Facebook, Stahl said.Those personal threats, from what Stahl describes as the "pickpockets" of cyber crime, may be the most prevalent during the Games. The institutional protections against those small, individual attacks may not be as strong, and Stahl said it's up to the Olympic fans to protect themselves.Cross-posted from: Smh.Com.Au